[ tlv ][ voice ]

[interns]

[ there's some part of her that wants to come at this optimistically, to come on the network and ask instead of going with what logic tells her, what she's learned about this place and how it works. as crazy as the Barge can be sometimes, there are some things that happen fairly often, frequently.

the meaning behind someone's room disappearing, for example.

so instead of the hopeful tone she might normally adopt at a time like this, to try and seem like she's Okay and she's Handling Things and she's only checking in about this to give people some reassurance, she sounds maybe a little tiny bit

definitely absolutely heartbroken ]

I know it's only been a few days since he left, and I know he said he'd be back, and I know this place likes to mess with us, but if Peter's room is gone, does that-

[ she pauses, swallows. she's got that same head-swimmy feeling that she got for a while when she was still getting used to Spider-Man being on the news, shown in these horrifying situations. saving people from a burning building, standing between an armed robber and their way out. it's that slow-drip feeling of dread that she's never going to see him again. which is dramatic, but that's what it is.

so no, she doesn't have to ask what that means ]

Peter Parker's room is gone.

Comments

[semifreakingnormal]

[He's taken shocks that felt like punches to the guts before. Actually, they usually feel more like claws tearing out his insides, leaving him hollow and numb and in a pain he doesn't know how to fix.

It's not exactly like that, now. Peter's not dead. He's just....he's just gone, before Scott could come through. Before he could make sure that Peter didn't have to worry about Gwen ever again.

But here she is, telling him that he should have worried about Peter--

No. No, he's probably fine. He's either with James freaking Bond, or he's back home.

(That gives him the worst sinking feeling, the idea of Peter being home again, alone, no one to drag him out of his aunt's house or hang out with him or convince him that he doesn't have to blame himself forever.)

Scott tries to master this, but he's not always good at hiding his emotions. He remembers the last time Peter vanished.]

Maybe he'll come back, you know - sometimes that happens, even when their room is gone.

[interns]

Yeah, I know. [ totally just said without putting any thought into it. it's not a brushoff, but she feels guilty for it anyway. so she huffs a breath, forcing some of the tension out of her tone ] I mean, I know. It's just- It hasn't happened like that, since I've been here. Someone leaving for a visit and their room disappearing? It just feels [ wow she does not want to say this ] permanent.

It's hard not knowing if he's where he intended to end up, or if he got sent home without warning. We had plans, we were going to fix things. None of that's happened yet.